Mets GM Scott put on administrative leave

NEW YORK -- Mets general manager Zack Scott pleaded not guilty to driving while intoxicated charges in Westchester County, N.Y., on Thursday morning, following an incident that resulted in his arrest two days prior. The Mets have placed Scott on administrative leave “until further notice,” according to a team release, with team president Sandy Alderson assuming his duties.

The Mets released the following statement on Wednesday afternoon: “We were surprised and deeply disappointed to learn this morning about an alleged DUI involving Zack Scott. We take this matter very seriously.”

The Mets hired Scott as their assistant GM in December to serve under Alderson and president of baseball operations Jared Porter. The team subsequently fired Porter after news broke that he had sent explicit, unsolicited photos to a female reporter earlier in his career. Since that time, Scott has been serving as the Mets’ acting GM, taking point on all baseball operations matters while reporting directly to Alderson.

As of last month, Mets officials had not decided whether to remove the interim tag from Scott’s title. They did not intend to make that choice until after the season.

Scott had been scheduled to travel with the Mets to Washington on their upcoming trip but will no longer do so.

The New York Post was first to report details of Scott’s incident, which occurred early Tuesday morning when police found him asleep in his car at a traffic light in White Plains, N.Y. Scott had been at team owner Steve Cohen’s house earlier in the night for a charity fundraising event, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation, but that event ended hours before Scott was found in his car.